Vacuum-cleaner.



J. KELLER & J. H. TEMPLIN.

VACUUM CLEANER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 28, 1910.

Patented Aug. 31, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

- |NVENTOR S E S S E N l W J. KELLER & J. H. TEMPLIN.

VACUUM CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 28, 1910.

Patented Aug. 31, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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JULIUS KELLER AND JOSEPH I-I. TEMPLIN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA,

ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO SANTO MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OFPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

VACUUM-CLEANER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 31, 1915.

Application filed September 28, 1910. Serial No. 584,191.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, J ULIUS KELLER andJOSEPH H. TEMPLIN, citizens of the United States, residin in the cityand county of Philadelphia, tate of Pennsylvania, have invented a newand useful Vacuum-Cleaner, of which the following is a specification.

Our present invention relates to that class .of devices for removingdust, in which a partial vacuum is produced in a chamber having anair-filtering apparatus, by means of a pumping apparatus connected tosuch chamber, and in which dust is sucked, together with air, into suchchamber through a nozzle and hose and thus separated from the air, orthe so-calledvacuum cleaners.

Our invention consists of a novel means for absorbing vibration of themotor actuating the pumping apparatus in such vacuum cleaners anddeadening the noise by the operation of such motor.

Our invention further consists of novel means for supporting the pumpingapparatus in such vacuum cleaners.

Our invention further consists of novel means for suspending the pumpingapparatus in such vacuum cleaners and absorbing the vibration in thesame by the action of the operating pumping apparatus itself.

Qur invention further consists of novel means for preventing injury tothe pumping apparatus in such vacuum cleaners from sudden shocks.

It further consists of other novel features of construction, all aswillbe hereinafter fully set forth.

For the purpose of illustrating our invention we have shown in theaccompanying drawing one form thereof which is prelimited to the precisearrangement and organization of these instrumentalities as herein shownand described.

Figure 1 represents an axial vertical section of a vacuum cleanerembodying our improvement. Fig. 2 represents a side elevation, partly insection, of the suction chamber and the supports for the latter and forthe motor.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in thefigures.

Referring to the drawings: The illustrated machine has a circular base,1, preferably mounted on casters, 2, and which is formed with anupstanding flange, 3. A cylindrical casing, 4, has a bottom ring, 5,which is formed with an annular groove, 6, in which fits a yieldinggasket, 7, which rests upon the upstanding flange of the base. .The'base has pivoted bolts, 8, provided with thumb-nuts, 9, and said boltsand nuts engage slotted lugs, 10, upon the bottom ring of the casing, soas to tightly draw the gas- 'ket against the flange and thus tightlyclose the joint between the casing and the base. Handles, 11, aresecured to the sides of the casing. The upper end of the casing isclosed by a cover, 12, having slotted lugs, 13, engaged by pivotedbolts, 14, and thumbnuts, 15, and having a handle, 16, across the top.The cover has an inlet opening, 17, to which the suction-hose carryingthe dustladen air may be connected. The inlet opening leads into aninverted truncate conical chamber, 18, which opens into the interior ofthe casing and is covered by an observation glass, 19, through which thedustladen air entering the machine may be ob served. A metallic ring,20, is clamped between the cover and the top ring of the easing, andgaskets, 21, are fitted in grooves in textile material of finer mesh ortexture than that of the inner bag, is supported by its top wire upon ashoulder, 24, within the casing.

A slightly dished partition, 25, is secured to the wall of the casing atabout the middle of the same, and divides the casing into two chambers,the upper one, 26, of which will hereafter be referred to as the vacuumchamber, and the lower chamber as the pressure chamber, 27. The pressurechamber has a restricted outlet through an opening, 27 i, in its side,and to which a hose may be connected when a blast of air is required.

The partition has a central opening, 28, through which communication ismade between the two chambers, and said opening is surrounded by aslightly upturned flange, 29. A foraminated plate, 30, rests upon thepartition above the central opening, to prevent the bags from beingdrawn through the latter.

The pumping apparatus is suspended in the pressure chamber in a mannerlater herein to be described, and has a suction chamber, 31, of circularoutline, inclosed by a domed top, 32, and a band, 33, having eachlaterally projecting annular flanges, respectively, 34 and 35, which aresecured together and clamp the edge of a flexible dia phragm, 36,between them. The domed top has a central intake opening, 37, having anupturned fiange, 38, and a slightly dished, annular suction cup, 39, ofrubber or similar yielding, flexible and elastic material, fits aroundsaid flange and is held in place by rings, 40, and bolts, 41, whichclamp the cup and the top between the rings. The cup is preferablythicker at the center than at the edges, so that said thinner edges mayclosely fit and bear against the under side of the dished partitionaround the opening in the same, when suction is created in the suctionchamber,the cup thus forming a flexible and yielding adhesion chamber.An inwardly-opening valve for the pumping chamber is formed by a seatplate, 42, hav ing a number of perforations, 43, a flexible diaphragm,44, having a number of perforations, 45, arranged in staggeringalinement with those in the seat plate, and a perforated guard plate,46. Said valve is se cured within the domed top, beneath the suctionopeing in the same, by claimping rings, 47, clamping the edges of theplates and diaphragm and bolts or rivets 48, through the top, plates,diaphragm and "rings. A central post, 48*, secured to the two plates,spaces the same at their middles to maintain free space for the play ofthe diaphragm. A

similar valve is formed in the pump diaphragm 36 by means of a seatplate, 49, having a number of perforations, 50, the middle portion ofthe pump diaphragm having a number of staggered perforations, 51, and aforaminated plate, 52. Said parts are secured together at their edgesand to an annular follower, 53, by means of bolts or rivets, 54, and themiddles of the plates are spaced by a central post, 55, to allow freespace for the play of the diaphragm.

A motor, 56,in the present instance, an electric motor,-is supportedbelow the pumping chamber in a manner hereinafter to be described. Themotor shaft, 57, has secured upon its ends fly-wheels, 58, and eccentricdisks, 59. The eccentric straps, 60, of two pitmen, 61, fit around thedisks, and anti-friction balls, 62, are placed in a ball-race betweeneach strap and the rim of the disk. The upper ends of the pitmen areconnected to ears, 63, depending from the follower, 53, by pins, 64, andthe follower and the diaphragm will be reciprocated from the rotarymotion of the motor through the eccentrics and pitmen.

Upright rods, 65, are secured at their lower ends in the base of themachine and have tubular sleeves, 66, upontheir lower portions. Theflanges of the suctionrchamher and the diaphragm have holes, 67, throughwhich said rods pass, so that said chamber may have vertical movementupon the rods. Coiled springs, 6.8, upon the rods, bear against theupper ends of the sleeves upon the rods and against the flange of thesuction chamber, so as to yieldingly support the latter, and coiledsprings, 69, upon the rods, bear from above against the flange of thesuction chamber and are held at their upper ends by nuts, 70, upon therods. Brackets, 71, have their upper ends secured to the flange of thesuction chamber, and converge slightly to be secured to a bottomplate,72, upon which the motor is supported and secured, so that the entirepumping apparatus is yieldingly supported upon the springs upon the rodsand is guided in its vertical movement by said rods. Normally thesprings hold the pumping apparatus just sufliciently high to bring theedge or lip of the suction-cup in contact with the partition in thecasing between the vacuum chamber and the pressure chamber. A tubularblock, 73, of rubber or other resilient material, is secured upon astud, 74, projecting downward from the under side of thebottom-plate,'and said block is guided within a socket, 75, in the base,and does not normally touch the bottom of such socket, but simply servesas a buffer to cushion the bracket support or cage on excessive downwardmovement of the same.

In practice, a hose provided with a suitable suction nozzle (not shown)is connected to the inlet opening in the cover, and connection by wire(not shown) is made to the motor from a suitable supply of electricity,such as an ordinary lamp socket. \Vhen now the motor is started,- thediaphragm in the suction chamber will be rapidly reciprocatedorvibrated, drawing in air through the inlet valve in the top of thechamber, the diaphragm of which valve will be drawn inward to admit airon the downward stroke of the pump diaphragm and forced upward to closethe staggered openings of the valve on the upward stroke of the pumpdiaphragm. Likewise, the valve formed by the pump diaphragm will beopened on the upthe downward stroke to create suction in the chamber.The suction created in the suction chamber will cause the suction cup totightly bind against the partition, and the pumping apparatus will besupported from the partition by the suction cup,which will take theweight off from the lower springs. As the pumping apparatus operates, apartial vacuum will be created in the vacuum chamber and, when thesuction nozzle is properly applied, dust-laden air will be drawn inthrough the inlet opening, into the vacuum chamber, where it will befiltered through the dust bags, drawn through the suction chamber,forced into the pressure chamber, and finally be expelled through theoutlet opening. As the vacuum chamber has a restricted inlet, it isevident that the pumping apparatus will maintain a partial vacuum insaid chamber, and it is likewise evident that pressure above that of theatmosphere will be maintained in the pressure chamber owing to thelatter having a restricted outlet, and that such difference of pressurewill bind the suction cup to the partition.

The entire pumping apparatus and, especially, the motor being suspendedby yielding support consisting of the springs and the suction cup, it isevident that all vibration caused by the operation of the motor will beabsorbed by such yielding support, thereby doing away with twoobjections heretofore raised against the use of vacuum cleaners of thistype, namely, the shaking or vibration imparted to the floor andsurrounding objects, and the noise caused by'the motor resting upon asolid support.

The upper springs upon the vertical rods serve to cushion upwardmovement of the pumping apparatus, as does also the suction cup. Thislatter cup is principally relied upon to suspend the pumping apparatuswhen in operation and to form a vacuum adhesion cushion to absorbvibration. The lower springs support the pumping apparatus. when at restand both sets of springs serve, besides their cushioning function, torelieve or overcome friction between the holes in the flanges and therods upon which the pumping apparatus is vertically guided, and tobalance said apparatus. In case of excessive downward movement of thepumping apparatus, either when in motion or, for example, the entiremachine is lifted and set down abruptly, the buffer block or cushionupon the bottom of the supporting frame or cage will cushion the pumpingapparatus against excessive shock.

The dust bags are accessible by removing the cover, when they may belifted out and emptied or whatever else is desired or required. Themotor and other parts of the pumping apparatus are accessible byunscrewing the thumb-nuts at the base and removing the casing fromthebase, and the &

. statement of the invention and the above description, and while wehave, in the present instance, shown and described a preferredembodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactoryand reliable results, it is to be understood that the same issusceptible of modification in various particulars without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of itsadvantages.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A vacuum cleaner including in combination, a casing forming a vacuumchamber, a pump casing having an intake opening formed therein and inline with theoutlet opening of the vacuum chamber, and connecting meansoperated upon by suction for connecting the pump casing to the casingfor the vacuum chamber and independent means for moving said connectingmeans into contact with the casing.

52. A vacuum cleaner including in combination, a casing forming a vacuumchamber, a pump casing having an intake opening formed therein and inline With the outlet opening of the vacuum chamber, and a yielding andelastic cup connected to the pump casing and surrounding the outletopening in the casing of the vacuum chamber, said cup being held to thecasing by the suction of the vacuum chamber, and independent means formoving said cup into vcontact with the casing. i

3. A vacuum cleaner including in combination, a casing forming a vacuumchamber, a pump casingbeneath the vacuum chamber and having its intakeregistering with the outlet of the vacuum chamber, a pump supported bythe pump casing, and means operated upon by the suction in the vacuumchamber for connecting the pump casing to the casing of the vacuumchamber, whereby the pump is yieldingly suspended by its own suctionfrom the casing of the vacuum chamber.

4. A vacuum cleaner including in combination, a casing forming a vacuumchamber, a pump casing beneath the vacuum chamber and having its intakeregistering with the outlet in the vacuum chamber, a yielding andflexible cup attached to the pump casing and surrounding the outlet inthe vacuum chamber, said cup being adapted to engage the casing of thevacuum chamber and support the pump casing, and a pump-' ing mechanismcarried by the pump casing. v

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5. A vacuum cleaner including in combination, a casing forming a vacuumchamber, said casing at the lower face of the vacuum chamber beingdished -and formed with a central outlet opening, a pump casing beneathsaid chamber and having its intake registering with said opening, apumping mechanism supported by the pump casing, and means operated uponby the suction of the pump for yieldingly supporting the pump casingfrom the casing of the vacuum chamber.

6. A vacuum cleaner including in combination, a casing forming a vacuumchamber, said casing at the lower face of the vacuum chamber beingdished and formed with a central outlet opening, a pump casing beneathsaid chamber and having its intake registering with said opening, apumping mechanism supported by the pump casing, means operated upon bythe suction of the pump for yieldingly supporting the pump casing fromthe casing of the vacuum chamber, and means for yieldingly supportingthe pump casing when the pump is not in action.

7. A vacuum cleaner including in combination, a casing forming a vacuumchamber, a pump casing having an intake registering with the outlet inthe vacuum chamber, means for connecting the intake of the pump casingwith the outlet of the vacuum chamber, said means being so constructedas to 7 allow the pump casing to move relative to the casing of thevacuum chamber, a pumping mechanism supported by the pump casing, andmeans for yieldingly supporting the pump casing.

8. A vacuum cleaner including in combination, a casing forming a vacuumchamber, a pump casing having an intake registering with the outlet inthe vacuum chamber, means for connecting the intake of the pump casingwith the outlet of the vacuum chamber, said means being so constructedas to allow the pump casing to move relative to the casing of the vacuumchfmber, a pumping mechanism supported by said pump casing, and springsengaging the pump casing for yieldingly holding the same in apredetermined position relative to the casing of the vacuum chamber.

9. In a vacuum cleaner, a vacuum chamber having an outlet opening, asuction pump beneath said chamber and having its intake registering withsaid opening, a motor beneath said pump and operatively connected to andsupported from said pump, means foi-yieldingly supporting the pump, andindependent yielding means connecting the intake of the puinpand theopening of the vacuum chamber.

10. In a vacuum cleaner, a vacuum chamber having a dished bottom formedwith a central outlet opening, a pump having its intake registering withthe outlet opening, a yielding suction cup secured around said intakeand its edge engaging the bottom of the vacuum chamber around thecentral opening, a motor operatively connected to and supported from thepump, and yielding means supporting the pump.

11. In a vacuum cleaner, a vacuum chamber having a dished bottom formedwith a central outlet opening, a pump having a casing formed with anintake registering with said opening and with a lateral flange, ayielding suction cup secured around the intake of the pump and havingits-edge engaging the bottom of the vacuum chamber around the centralopening, guide rods through the flange of the pump casing, springs uponsaid rods and bearing against the flange, and a motor operatively connected to the pump and suspended from the casing.

12. In a vacuum cleaner, a pump having a casing, yielding means forsupporting said casing, a cage secured to the casing and depending fromthe same, an elastic butter secured to the under side of the bottom ofsaid cage, and a motor supported in said cage and operatively connectedto the pump. 13. 'In a vacuum cleaner, a base formed with a centralsocket, upright rods upon said base, a pump having a casing formed witha lateral flange having holes sliding upon said rods, springs upon saidrods and bearing against said flange, a cage secured to the casing anddepending from the same, a yielding buffer upon the under side of thebottom of the cage and projecting into the socket of the base, and amotor supported in the cage and operatively connected to the pump.

H. In a vacuum cleaner, a casing having a vacuum chamber in its upperportion formed with a restricted inlet andapressure chamber in its lowerportion formed with a restricted outlet, a partition between saidchambers and formed with an opening, a suction pump within said pressurechamber, yielding means connecting the intake of the pump to the openingin the partition, and yielding supports for said pump.

15. In a vacuum cleaner, a vacuum chamber, a pressure chamber, apartition be tween said chambers and formed with an opening, a suctionpump within the pressure chamber and delivering into the same, and ayielding vacuum adhesion member connecting the opening in the partitionand the intake of the pump and secured to one of said elements andadhering to the other by internal suction and external pressure.

16. In a vacuum cleaner, a vacuum chamber, a pressure chamber, apartition be-' tween said chambers and formed with an openlng, a suctionpump withln the pressure chamber and delivering into the same,

and a yielding cup around the intake of the pump and the opening in thepartition and secured .to one of said elements and adhering to the otherby internal suction and external pressure.

17. In a vacuum cleaner, a vacuum chamber, a pressure chamber, apartition between said chambers and formed with an opening, a suctionpump within the pressure chamber and delivering into the same and havingits intake registering with the opening in the partition, and a yieldingvacuum adhesion member connecting said intake and opening and secured toone of the elements and adhering tothe other by internal suction andexternal pressure.

18. In a vacuum cleaner, an upper vacuum chamber, a lower pressurechamber, a horizontal partition between said chambers and formed with anopening, a suction pump in the pressure chamber and having its intakeregistering with the opening in the partition and delivering into thepressure chamber, and a yielding cup connecting the intake to theopening in the partition and secured to one of the elements and adheringto the other by internal suction and external pressure, whereby the pumpis yieldingly suspended by its suction from the vacuum chamber and itscompression into the pressure chamber.

ported by'the same, means for yieldingly supporting the pump, and aylelding vacuum adhesion member secured to theintake of the pump andadhering to the partition around the opening in the same by the suctionof the pump from the vacuum chamber and the external pressure upon itfrom the pump pressure in the pressure chamber.

JULIUS KELLER. JOSEPH H. TEMPLIN.

Witnesses:

H. S. FAIRBANKS,

E. HAYWARD FAIRBANKS.

